An Australian schoolgirl’s attempt to sail solo non-stop and unassisted around the world has received a setback after her yacht crashed into a cargo ship during a sea trial overnight.

Jessica Watson, 16, set off from her home in Mooloolaba in Queensland to sail south to Sydney for a 10-day test run for her yacht, Ella's Pink Lady, before the official start to her round-the-world record attempt this month.

However less than 24 hours after taking off, the teenager ran into trouble when her 34ft sloop was struck by a 63,000-tonne bulk carrier in a shipping lane about 15 nautical miles east of Stradbroke Island at around 2am this morning (5pm Tuesday, BST).

Jessica, who was below deck when the crash occurred, was unharmed. However her yacht sustained damage to its mast, which was snapped, and the deck and starboard side of the hull were badly scraped during the collision.

After arriving back on land earlier today Jessica, who has spent a year preparing for the trip, admitted that the collision was “pretty scary” but said that she was determined to keep going with her record-breaking attempt, despite her “unlucky” trial run.

"All things considered, the boat did come up well,” she said after docking on the Gold Coast earlier today.

“The big thing for me is I came through the whole thing feeling confident ... it was a pretty scary incident. Everyone back at base jumped into action and it all worked beautifully."

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is investigating the crash. Michael Squires, the acting director of the ATSB's surface safety investigations office, said that Jessica was very lucky to have escaped injury.

“A ship of that size, which is large and fully loaded, tends not to be very forgiving in the case of a collision with a small fibreglass boat,” he said.

“Any collision is inherently dangerous. From the fact the vessel floated is extremely fortunate for the young lady on the boat.”

The bulk carrier, believed to be a foreign ship that was heading out of Australia, did not stop.

Jessica’s spokesman, Scott Young, said that she had briefly spoken to the captain of the container ship by radio, but communication was limited because of a language barrier.

Mr Young said that despite her youth, Jessica, who has been sailing since she was 9, has enough experience to successfully complete her attempt to circumnavigate the globe.

“This is not an age issue. Jessica is very experienced and she believes — and knows — that she has the same experience as some sailors who are decades older,” he said.

Mr Young said that once Ella's Pink Lady has been repaired, Jessica plans to continue her journey to Sydney where she will complete her final preparations for her round-the-world voyage, which she is expected to begin later this month.

The teenager hopes to become the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around the world, sailing 21,000 nautical miles in 8 months.

In 1999, the Australian Jesse Martin became a household name and entered the record books at 18 by covering 27,000 nautical miles in 328 days by himself.

His record was broken last month by the British student Mike Perham, 17.

Laura Dekker, a Dutch schoolgirl aged 13, is also attempting to sail solo around the world, however her attempt has sparked an international debate because of her age.